Imprinting the Wild Ewe by Beryl Baker, 12/14/11Published in sheep! Magazine in 2012.

If you share this article please give credit for its content to Beryl Baker, . Valiant Farm, Tucson, AZ -- Registered Shetland Sheep and others. One of the most challenging experiences for a shepherd is flighty or frightened sheep. Chasing stresses out both parties – sheep and shepherd – and sets the tone for an uncomfortable relationship between the two. This article will explain how to tame even the wildest ewes by being with them during the birthing process and applying techniques that will also “imprint” the newborn lambs laying the basis for them to grow up to be calm, easy to handle adults. Getting your wild ewe into an area smaller then a pasture is advisable. For a very wild ewe might want to have a large enough area that she is not in constant flight mode in your presences. Move the ewe gently into this area at least five days before she is due to give birth. If you do not know her due date there are two ways to tell when the ewe is coming close to giving birth.

If the ewe has been recently sheared, watch the backbone between the top of the hindquarters and the top of the tail one to see when there is a sinking over, beside, and below the spine bone.

The other way is to watch the udder/teat size and firmness.

Both ways can give you notice that lambing is imminent, within 24 hours. Many ewes will show little interest in eating when they’re about to lamb, but this is not as reliable as some ewes will eat even while in labor. More often they will tend to drift off by themselves. It’s important to try to keep the ewe from running within 24 hours of giving birth as it can cause lambing problems. Let’s assume that the animal has been quietly waiting for the process to begin. If all is going well when the birthing process starts a clear mucus to lubricate the birthing canal will present itself. The lambing process can take a short time or it can take hours. During this time, the animal may paw and dig at the earth, get up and down, sometimes call quiet repeated sounds unlike her usual calls, sometimes eat some of the mucus, or make licking motions. She may be susceptible to thinking that other newborns are hers. She may help another ewe wash their babies off. She may offer to allow new babies to suckle from her. Preferably, she’ll be by herself so this confusion can be averted. This may be one of the reasons why mother animals go off by themselves in the wild. Natures’ way of making sure the ewe imprints on her own babies. Once the lamb’s head and/or feet have committed themselves to the outside world the imprinting can begin. While the animal is in serious labor pushing is the time to make one’s moves to get close to the animal. If she is a very wild ewe, it may be helpful to squat down to be less intimidating. Move very slowly, in a relaxed almost nonchalantly toward the ewe. When the animal stops pushing stop moving. If she gets up and moves away. you should remain in one place. Once she starts pushing again, you may get up and resume moving slowly toward her. Sometimes can gradually walk to within 8 to 10 feet of a wild ewe before you need to again quietly squat down. Reading the animal is important at this point. If she is very nervous she may get up and move away several times. It’s important to not get her running so if she moves away don’t chase her. Stop moving, wait. When she gets into serious labor she’ll find it more difficult to move away. When she’s pushing is the time to try to get close to the ewe. If she shows nervousness stop moving until she calms again and/or goes into labor again. Gradually she’ll become more and more involved in the process of birthing rather than worrying about getting away from you. If you are comfortable helping with lambing process the imprinting can begin by getting close enough to the ewe to help her lamb. Imprinting is a process can go through with helping the ewe to lamb that have learned over 40 years of animal husbandry through vet help, advise and help from others, book learning, and experience which believe is part of the imprinting but as am not a vet should not advise you in this article as to how to actually help the ewe to lamb. The main thing to remember is to be calm, nonchalant, patient, unhurried and try to be close to the ewe when she lambs. The ewe will eventually go back into labor, she has no choice, and one can get close to her again. A note of caution, with a very wild ewe, you may have to just wait and let her do all the work herself. The imprinting can come later. However, has appeared that the ewes have appreciated having the lambing process over sooner when one can help her. If you’re not comfortable helping with the lambing process just wait and watch the mother do the whole job herself. You can start an imprinting process once the baby is on the ground. Now let’s assume the lamb is on the ground, has taken its first breath, and is shaking its head to clear the mucus. Let the lamb finish its own head shake. Then clear the nostrils of liquid and reach down into the mouth and remove as best you can any mucus in the mouth. After the ewe has lambed there may be different scenarios of reactions from different ewes. On very rare occasions a new mother may just walk away and leave the baby. But also have come out to find ewes that have rejected a lamb without the presence of people so believe this is mostly due to the individual ewe and not necessarily the presence of a person. However, most animals will instinctively be drawn back by the calling of the baby and the smell of the amniotic fluid as these stir the animal’s own strong nurturing instincts. While the ewe is trying to decide what to do, after you clear that mucus from the nostrils and mouth, sit back and wait. The baby call will usually bring the mother. For very wild ewes, you may have to move away from the baby in order to encourage the mother to go to it. Once the mother has started seriously cleaning the baby and has become intensely and focused on that action she has usually started her own process of imprinting on the baby, accepting it as her own. Using the same methods of getting close to the ewe as when the ewe was in labor and birthing move forward, usually squatting and moving forward low to the ground is a good idea. Reading the ewe is helpful here as well. If she shows too much nervousness by leaving the baby, wait between your moves toward the baby for her to return to the lamb and begins licking it again. Often the baby calling will return her to her baby. She will not want to leave it behind even in her fear of you. If you have waited until after the birthing or you arrive after the baby is born but still in the clean-up stage, you can still approach the baby and hold it while waiting for the mother to return to it. It is unusual for a ewe to desert its baby once it has made that initial bonding even if it is afraid of you. Once you are in contact with the lamb you can begin imprinting the baby to you. By putting one’s hand lightly over the nose of the babies they smell you as the ewe cleans them. Sometimes to help the ewe one can pull off some of the major parts of the mucus thus saving the ewe some work and getting her used to your presence. By working with the ewe to clean the baby one is also having the ewe smell your scent while it’s imprinting on the baby. Thus you have begun the imprinting process of the ewe. Holding the baby from moving away with the ewe keeps the ewe having to come back to the baby and be close to you. Though the books say the lamb must feed within six hours of birthing to survive, be patient. Some babies will be up and feeding within minutes, many however, take longer to acclimate to being out of the womb, getting used to standing, and then will seek to find that teat. Usually trying to hurry the process just leads to resistance from the baby for help to feed. So letting the baby in its own sweet time find the teat works best though it does take patience and time. With the amniotic fluid on your hands put your hand between the baby and the ewe’s nose where she is licking off the baby. What you’re trying to do is get the ewe to lick the fluid off of your hand. When and while she’s doing that she will be imprinting upon you. She will be identifying you as part of her family. Over a course of time attempt to get her to smell and lick fluid off of your hands a number of times. The more reliably she will lick your hand the more she’s imprinting upon you. (Even if she will not lick off the fluid if she either smells or ignores the hand without fear she will be doing some imprinting.) Meanwhile continue to imprint the baby as well with one hand close to its nose where it can smell you. You can also take this time with the baby to get it used to being handled. For instance holding, touching the legs, the ears, the tail. The ewe is doing that to its baby as well because she is licking it all over. But additional touching by you of the baby will help the process of having the baby imprinting on you and later make the baby easier to handle as it grows up because it does not have the fear of you. (If you are not able to imprint the lamb at birth and only handled it after it has been cleaned it is likely the lamb will become more skittish after 3 days. If the mother has not been imprinted or shows nervousness of you, then even if the lamb was imprinted the lamb will follow its mothers lead or any other adult sheep’s example. Have found that need to work with the baby for the first two to three days on a regular bases handling it, teaching it to allow the touching, holding up its legs as one might do when trimming feet, etc. after that when the baby begins to be skittish if you continue to try to catch it any imprinting work may lessen in value as the baby begins to see you as predator because you “chase” it.) Once the baby is up and moving around during imprinting can still continue the process as described through touching, smelling etc. You can still restrain the baby so that it forces the ewe to stay close by you. (Caution, only turn a lamb loose when it has stopped resisting or trying to get away or it will fight all the harder each time you hold it.) The more readily the ewe will lick the more she becomes imprinted. So it’s advisable if one has a very wild animal to continue to work with it until the animal accepts you, doesn’t run from you, and will readily lick the mucus off your hands. In some cases, if you want to take the extra time can work on having the ewe allow you to touch them while caring for its baby. Signs to watch for in the imprinting process of the ewe are a softening in the eye, less wild look of that wide-eyed scared look happening, not moving away at your reaching out to them or touching them. That’s what you’re looking for, your goal. When the lamb finally finds its mother’s teat the final step for imprinting the baby begins as well as a test of how imprinted one has gotten the ewe. As the baby eats at the teat put one’s hand over the lamb’s head near their nose between ewes’ body and the baby while the baby eats. This lets the lamb smell you while it is doing its favorite activity of eating. If ewe will stand for this you know you’ve done your job of getting her imprinted well. Usually waiting and working with the baby tell you know that it’s had its first good drink will seal that imprint. If you’ve done imprinting job right the ewe should be standing quietly calmly, more concerned with the baby than yourself. Continue taking off what fluid that is still on the baby and offering toward the ewes’ nose. Ideally if you have the fluid on your hands the ewes’ first reaction should be to look at and perhaps lick your hand. The final step is to get up and stand by the ewe still giving it opportunity to smell you by reaching out a hand with amniotic fluid on it. (Usually you end up doing this anyway as the ewe and baby move around as the baby searches for the teat.) One may stand and move and squat down a number times by the ewe. Once the ewe is comfortable with your presence as a two leg move away from the ewe. Three feet at first and then go back at the ewe and let her smell your hand, play with the baby, get more fluid on the hand and offer your hand at the ewes nose, let ewe sniff and then lick the hand if it will. Go though the process until the ewe is calm again then walk away three steps, 3 feet. Wait then walk back to the mother. Continue this process till she is comfortable with you doing this. Gradually extending the distance that you leave, stand and wait away from the animal watching, and then returning to the animal. You get the idea. The goal is that when you approach the animal and work with them there is little to no flight response. Ideally when you return to the animal and offer a hand they should reach out and lick it. Usually once you have extended to 20 feet and can come back to ewe and baby several times without flight response one can leave them for a time. You have completed the imprinting process. Remember though for a baby an hour is a long time in their life so coming back in an hour and repeating your handling of them is useful for both the lamb and the ewe. As soon as the lamb has some steadiness to being on its feet one can work on having the baby allow its feet to be held. Hold the baby in such a way as to support it without allowing it to get away. Run a hand down a leg, pick it up in a correct comfortable position for the animal. Hold it gently. Do not let the baby take its leg/foot out of your hand. To let the baby take back its feet only teaches the baby to try harder the next time to remove it from your hand. Wait till it stops struggling then let the foot go. That is the lambs reward for stopping its struggle. Do that about 3 times then move on to the next leg. Repeat the process with all four legs. Doing this in rotation about 3 times will teach the lamb to give to your handling. If you repeat this about four to five times per day for two days, when this animal grows up it tends to allow you to handle its feet for trimming without fighting the process. Use this imprint method on ram lambs as well at least the first day. May even work some with them the first couple of days, though not as much as with the ewe lambs as ewe lambs seem to be naturally more wary. After that mostly ignore the ram lambs except to maybe teach them to tie and be lead (though some will come up to be scratched between the shoulder blades, never pet the top of the head). Perhaps the rams learn respect because one handles them and has dominancy over them when they are wee babies because in general they grow up to be easy to handle, even friendly and sweet.

If you work with the ewe and lamb(s) for at least the first day, ideally two days, you will observe a change in the former wild ewe’s behavior toward you. Sometimes one can work three days with them but if the ewe or baby shows signs of avoidance it is better to just let them be, returning them to the herd. There will still be a difference in how they will react to you in the future. Almost guaranteed they will be less flighty even when the rest of the herd moves away from you. Have “tamed” very wild, off the wall, flighty to the point of trying to jump though fences ewes with this method. In fact, it was from such a ewe that first began learning this method. Have fun making those wild ewes into calm approachable animals.